More employment opportunities for Sri Lankans in Seychelles

by Ananda KANNANGARA

The Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) on Friday announced that Lankan workers will secure a large number of employment opportunities in Seychelles during the next few months.

This is a result of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Governments of Sri Lanka and Seychelles, signed at Temple Trees in the presence of President Mahinda Rajapaksa and President of Seychelles James Alix Michel during the latter's recent visit to Sri Lanka. Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare Minister Dilan Perera signed the MoU on behalf of Sri Lanka, while Seychelles Foreign Minister Jean Paul Adam represented his country.

According to the MoU, Sri Lankan workers, in future, would find jobs in the fields of tourism, travel, education, business and marketing in Seychelles. Job seekers could forward their applications on a date announced by the SLBFE through approved official employment agents.

Bureau statistics reveal that 179 Sri Lankan workers found employment in Seychelles through SLBFE channels during 2011 and another batch of 105 workers have left for the island during the first six months of this year. A large number of Sri Lankan school teachers, principals, nurses, electricians, mechanics, tour guides and hotel staffers are currently employed in Seychelles.

Minister Dilan Perera told the Sunday Observer that signing such an MoU with the Government of Seychelles for the first time on behalf of Sri Lankan migrant workers will open the gates for large numbers of Sri Lankans to find jobs there in the coming years.

Seychelles is an island to the northeast of Madagascar and 1600 km east of Kenya.